


I've seen kingdoms fall (I've seen it all)

by MYuzuki



Series: No matter what’s in front of me (I’ll keep fighting til I’ve won) [17]
Category: Final Fantasy XV, Kingsglaive
Genre: Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Time Travel Fix-It, it's time for The Big Reveal my friends!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:41:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26407414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MYuzuki/pseuds/MYuzuki
Summary: "I want the truth about how you knew Titus Drautos was a traitor," Cor says.Nyx gives a sharp bark of laughter, the sound rough and jagged. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," he says, and isn't sure whether it's exhaustion or hysteria making his voice shake.
Relationships: Cor Leonis & Nyx Ulric
Series: No matter what’s in front of me (I’ll keep fighting til I’ve won) [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1897525
Comments: 18
Kudos: 150





	I've seen kingdoms fall (I've seen it all)

**I've seen kingdoms fall (I've seen it all)**

* * *

"So, Ulric," Cor says two days later, after coming to find him where he's holed up in a Kingsglaive records room, picking through the personnel files of the Glaives who'd helped Drautos break out of prison, "we need to talk."

Nyx glances up from the folder in his hands with a frown. "That sounds ominous," he observes.

Cor tips his head in acknowledgement. "I have some questions for you."

"Alright." Nyx sets the file aside and leans back in his chair, arms crossed. "What's up?"

Cor hesitates, which Nyx finds strange and suspicious, then pulls up a chair of his own with a slight sigh. "I wanted to talk about Glauca."

Nyx stiffens on instinct, then relaxes with a concerted effort, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. "What about him?" he asks, and if his tone is a little bit sharp he thinks it can be forgiven.

Cor doesn't seem bothered by the edge in his voice, at least, replying without missing a beat. "I was just wondering if you were ever planning to explain how you knew Drautos was a traitor?"

Nyx, for his part, manages to keep his facial expression neutral; a considerable feat given the way his heart-rate skyrockets as something like fear jolts through his chest, stirring to life the low burn of magic in his veins. "It's like I said before," he replies after a moment, aiming for nonchalant. "After Lazarus tried and failed to assassinate me, I asked him who put him up to it and why. He told me it was Drautos, and that the commander had arranged some sort of a deal with Niflheim."

Cor gives him an inscrutable look. "And that's all there is to it?"

Nyx bristles a little out of habit and arches an eyebrow. "Is that not enough?"

Cor tips one shoulder in half a shrug. "For someone who takes things at face value, perhaps. But my gut says there's more to this, something that you're not saying. For example," he says, going on when Nyx clearly isn't going to respond, "you said the first time you suspected that something was wrong was when Luche Lazarus tried to kill you. But after asking around I learned that you were only on that mission in the first place because _you_ insisted on it; that you did, in fact, persuade Crowe to let you run that mission _instead_ of her. Can you explain why?"

Nyx clenches his jaw. "I was worried about her. I didn't want her to get-" _killed_ "-hurt. And since it turned out that the whole mission was a trap in the first place, it looks like I was right to worry."

"But you didn't know it was a trap until Lazarus ambushed you, correct? So there was no _real_ reason to take over the mission for Crowe. After all, we both know she's more than capable of looking after herself in ordinary circumstances."

Nyx very much does not like where this conversation is going. "Cor-"

"If you didn't suspect anything was wrong beforehand, why be so adamant about it?" Cor asks, looking at Nyx with an intense expression he can't decipher.

"What do you want me to say, Cor?" Nyx growls, frustrated and panicky all at once because he _can't_ tell him the truth, _he can't_. "Are you asking if I was in on it? If I'm a traitor, too?

"No, I don't think that. But I _do_ want the truth about how you knew Titus Drautos was a traitor," Cor says.

Nyx gives a sharp bark of laughter, the sound rough and jagged. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," he says, and isn't sure whether it's exhaustion or hysteria making his voice shake.

"Neither of us can know that for sure," Cor replies quietly, "unless you tell me."

Nyx swallows hard, and it feels like there are shards of glass in his throat, scraping and cutting. "Cor, I _can't_ ," he rasps out, shaking his head. "You don't-" He swallows again, heart hammering in his chest like a war drum. "I haven't even told Libertus and Crowe." Partially because he thinks they'd call him crazy, but also because they might not _understand_. Because if he told them the full truth then Crowe would yell at Libertus for abandoning the Kingsglaive in that other world, and Libertus would yell at her that there's no point in him fighting in the Glaive if she's not there at his side. And then they'd _both_ turn right around and yell at _Nyx_ , for sacrificing his life for the nebulous hope of a brighter future.

A moment of silence hangs between them, heavy and fraught with tension, the only sound in the room the barely audible whooshing of the ceiling fan overhead.

"Well, if you're not going to tell me what you know," Cor says at last, his sharp gazed still zeroed in on Nyx's face, watching his expression carefully, "how about I tell you what I know instead?"

Nyx heart skips a beat, and he has to take another careful breath. "Alright, go ahead," he says, forcing the words to come out sounding casual and mostly succeeding despite the slight waver in his voice.

"Alright," Cor echoes, tipping his head slightly to one side and seeming to gather his thoughts before speaking again. "I know that you're a loyal soldier and a good man. I know that you're incredibly protective of your friends. I know that you insisted on taking Crowe's escort mission because you were concerned about her safety. I know that you were ambushed by Luche Lazarus on that mission, and that you were critically wounded. And I know that any other person probably wouldn't have survived the blood loss from that shot, much less been able to walk all the way back to Insomnia to confront the man who'd ordered their death."

"...Okay," Nyx says cautiously, wary but not precisely alarmed because all of those things aren't normal but they are explainable if he tries hard enough.

Cor takes a deep breath, mouth pulling down into a slight frown before he continues speaking. "I also know that you were upset over Glauca's deception, but not _surprised_. I know that sometimes you look around at Insomnia as if you expect the skyscrapers to come tumbling down at any second, as if it's a miracle that we're all still standing here going about our daily lives." He lowers his voice so that's it's barely audible, just above a murmur. "I know that you have magic running through your veins, beyond what your oath to Regis has granted you. The power of the Lucii."

Nyx jerks in his seat before he can stop himself, heart stuttering in his chest as he makes a choking sound. "What-" He swallows hard and wills his hands to stop shaking, stuffing them into the pockets of his coat. "How do you know that?"

"Regis told me," Cor says simply. "The Kings of Old spoke to him," he goes on, "that day you came to the Citadel. They said that they don't know how you got the power, but that it's theirs."

"They don't _know_?" Nyx echoes, a shaky laugh spilling out of his lips before he can stop it. "How can they not know? They're the ones who gave it to me!"

Cor looks briefly startled by the laughter, then nods as if Nyx had just confirmed something for him. "Regis said that the Lucii mentioned something similar, that the power you had could only come from them. As a 'boon', I believe he called it. But he also said that the Kings have no recollection of granting such a boon. To anyone. Ever."

Nyx opens his mouth, realizes that he can't think of a single thing to say, and settles for another weak chuckle as a bitter sort of amusement curdles through his chest. "They don't remember it," he mutters, and chuckles again. "Of course they don't. That's just my fucking luck."

Cor arches an eyebrow at him, expression expectant. "Care to elaborate?" he says, in a tone that makes it something more than a friendly suggestion.

Nyx slumps down in his chair, abruptly weary right down to his bones. "I was serious when I said you won't believe me," he replies.

"Tell me anyway," Cor returns without hesitation.

So Nyx does.

He tells him about a ceasefire in another life, about Crowe's mission to retrieve Lunafreya and bring her back to Insomnia, about how Crowe had gone missing and her body found later on in the wastes. He tells him about how Libertus had become disillusioned and left the Kingsglaive, leaving Nyx alone and grieving and struggling to figure out the right thing to do. He tells Cor about how he'd met Lunafreya, how he'd pieced together the conspiracy, how Regis had authorized him to mobilize the Kingsglaive to rescue the Princess of Tenebrae from the clutches of the Empire later on.

He tells him about the Glaives who had turned traitor in that other time, about how he'd fought through an enemy airship with a daemon at its heart, about how he and Lunafreya had made it back to the King just in time for Glauca to arrive and try to kill him. He tells him about fighting Glauca that first time, fierce and desperate, buying time for Lunafreya to help Regis get to the safety of the emergency escape elevator. He tells him about how Regis had given the Ring of the Lucii to Lunafreya, entrusting her with getting it Noctis, and entrusting Nyx with keeping her safe.

( _Our hope goes with you now, Nyx Ulric_ , King Regis had said, and Nyx had shouldered that burden because he'd had to, because there was no one else left and because it was the right thing to do no matter how impossible a task it seemed.)

He tells Cor about how Regis had been struck down by Glauca, after choosing to engage the enemy general to buy time for Nyx to get Lunafreya out of the Citadel. He tells Cor about the empty chasm in his chest where the magic he'd pulled from the King had always rested, nestled by his heart, gone dark and silent because of the monarch's death.

He tells Cor about struggling through the city as the Empire ravaged it, daemons and enemy soldiers swarming through the skies and the streets as he and Lunafreya tried to escape the devastation. He talks about Luche Lazarus, about getting shot with a hollow-point bullet that had torn through his skin and ricocheted through his torso until he felt like someone had poured acid into his chest cavity, and about how Lunafreya had refused to cower before the traitor, how she'd goaded him into putting on the ring and watched as Lazarus had succumbed to his lust for power and been set ablaze for it.

He tells Cor about how Drautos had appeared out of nowhere, acting like an ally there to assist them, right up until Libertus had rammed into the commander with a car, exposing his true identity as General Glauca.

He tells Cor about how he'd stopped Lunafreya from putting on the ring, how he'd put it on himself. How he'd demanded that the Kings of Old take action, how the spirit of Regis has vouched for him, how he'd told the Lucii to go to hell.

 _(To hell with your power_ , he'd said. _I'm not here for it. I only came to tell you…that you are_ _ **no**_ _kings_.)

He tells Cor about the deal he'd made with the Lucii, about the power they'd granted him and the cost that was demanded in exchange.

He tells Cor about the magic that had burned inside of him like a wildfire, fierce and ferocious, and how he'd sent Glauca tumbling ass-over-teakettle before returning the Ring of the Lucii to Lunafreya and sending her off with Libertus, tasking his best friend with escorting her safely from the city and giving him one of his kukris to help him do it.

He tells Cor about the Old Wall, and about the impossible battle he'd fought against Glauca and his daemons across the crumbling skyline of Insomnia. He tells Cor about the power of the Lucii burning away at him the harder he fought, about how his skin had grown charred, shot through with smoldering cracks that glowed with the magic that was sizzling through him.

He tells Cor about catching the first glimpse of dawn on the horizon and knowing that his time was almost up, of knowing that he just had to hold on a little longer to give Libertus and Lunafreya enough time to get to the border.

He tells Cor about that final exchange of blows with Glauca, about his whole body catching on fire and melting the enemy general's armor just enough to expose the kukri that Libertus had jammed into the bastard's neck.

He tells Cor about his final warp-strike, about stabbing Titus Drautos in the heart as the last member of the Old Wall had ripped out the heart of the last massive daemon.

He tells Cor about his last sunset, and realizes that he has tears on his face.

He scrubs at his face, too tired to be embarrassed by the display of emotion, and buries his face in his hands because he doesn't want to risk looking at Cor's face just yet. "And then I woke up," he concludes, voice gone hoarse from talking for so long. "One moment, there was nothing but death and darkness. The next moment…I was waking up in my apartment, just before the ceasefire was declared."

A long, _long_ moment of quiet settles in the room.

Then, finally, "Well," Cor says, "shit. That's not what I was expecting. But okay."

Nyx's gaze jerks up, eyes roving Cor's expression for signs of disbelief or annoyance.

There aren't any. He looks faintly incredulous but not outright disbelieving, and he's not immediately denouncing Nyx as a complete raving lunatic. If anything the Marshal looks slightly shaken, skin pale around his eyes and jawline tense.

"You believe me?" Nyx asks, voice cracking as something that might be hope flickers to life in his chest.

Cor must see something in the look on his face, because his own expression shifts into something softer, less severe. "For fuck's sake," he says, gruff but sympathetic as he gets out of his chair and crosses the room to yank Nyx up and pull him into a rough hug. "Of course I believe you. Dumbass."

Nyx gives a wet laugh, closing his eyes as something in him eases, settles. "Okay," he whispers. "Okay."

 _Thank you_ , he doesn't say, but he knows that Cor hears it regardless.

**Author's Note:**

> ...is it evil of me to say that I'm looking forward to everyone screaming in the comments section about The Big Reveal? ;D
> 
> Anyway! Moving on to other things: thank you all so much for the great feedback on the last chapter regarding the platonic vs romantic decision. I really appreciated hearing everyone's opinions on it, so thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me!
> 
> After carefully considering all the responses, I think I'm going to focus on giving Nyx & Cor a really strong friendship rather than anything explicitly romantic. As many of you pointed out, there aren't many fics featuring a platonic relationship between them and I think a good strong friendship between them has a lot of potential.
> 
> That being said, they will absolutely still snark and banter at each other like an old married couple (because the mutual sass is half of why Cor got roped into my Nyx time travel fic after all lol) so I think the best description for their relationship in this series is "Very Good Friends (but could be interpreted as CorNyx if you squint)" which I think is a good middle ground that will make almost everyone happy. ;D
> 
> (Also, a couple people suggested the really delightful trope where they're not dating but *other people* think they are (looking at you, Kingsglaive rumor mill! :P) and I'm a sucker for that sort of thing, so that might crop up in later drabbles just for the hilarity it would cause. XD).


End file.
